My Fair Hufflepuff
by BootstrapBoula
Summary: New country, new school, new friends. Emilia Kaminska's new life was both exciting and intimidating. She was about to attend the famous Hogwarts with the famous Harry Potter. But she soon finds another boy far more interesting than The Boy Who Lived...
1. The Sorting Hat

**AN: **This is something that's been rattling around in my brain for a while. It introduces an original character, so you may or may not like it for that reason. And it will be going against cannon a bit. I tried to stay as close to the books as possible, but it was impossible for some things. This first chapter introduces my main character. I hope you like it. :)

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**The Sorting Hat**

Emilia Kaminska stood shivering in the Entrance Hall with the first years, waiting to be sorted. She had been forced to take the boats across the lake with them, and they were all soaking wet from the rain. The smallest boy had even fallen in the lake, and was now draped in a furry black coat. All of the first years seemed to be looking up at her, obviously wondering why the fourteen year old was waiting in the Entrance Hall with them. A part of her wanted to yell at them to mind their own business, but she was mostly too embarrassed to even look at them. She tried to concentrate on the portraits on the walls, but she could feel herself blushing. She adjusted her ridiculous pointy hat for the hundredth time that day, and ran her fingers through her drenched wavy blonde hair. She normally wore it in a long braid down her back, or two if she was in the mood, but her mom had made such a big deal about her wearing it down on her first day that she'd given in.

Finally, a girl with short black hair and a large square build got up the nerve to speak.

"Excuse me, why are you here? You're not in first year," the large girl said, not entirely politely.

"My family just moved here from Canada, so I have to get sorted with you guys. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either," the fourth year explained. This made most of the first years nod and turn away, except for the black haired girl, who continued to stare contemptuously at Emilia.

She snorted, and replied, "You're from _Canada_? Shouldn't you have gone to _Beauxbatons_?"

"Not every Canadian speaks French you know," Emily responded, trying to keep her cool. _Why am I arguing with an eleven year old? Hurry up, whatever this sorting thing is_, she thought. Her teachers at the Upper Canada Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry had explained most things about Hogwarts when she told them she was leaving, but they said the sorting was best left as a surprise.

The annoying first year snorted again, "Whatever. _Good luck _anyway," she said in a way that implied Emily was going to need it. She rolled her eyes and began to turn away, but Emily stopped her.

"So tell me, how many spells have _you_ done?" Emily asked the kid. She took out her yellowy-orange wand and twirled it causally between her fingers. The first year looked nervous for a fraction of a second, then opened her mouth to respond. But at that moment, a tall, stern-looking witch entered the Hall.

"Welcome, first years!" she glanced quickly at Emily, "and, Ms. Kaminska," Emily was happy to note she pronounced her last name right. "My name is Professor McGonagall. Please form a line, as we are about to enter the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into one of four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin! Each house has its own noble history, and while you are here, it will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will sleep in your house dormitory, spend free time in your house common-room, and attend classes with the rest of your house. Although fourth years may take elective classes which may or may not include other members of their house," the professor nodded to Emilia. She seemed distracted and frazzled, but determined to get through her speech. "Triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose points. At the end of the year, those points will determine the winner of the house cup. I hope you will each be a credit to your house. Each house has produced great witches and wizards, and it is an honour to be chosen for any one of the four. Now, please follow me."

Emilia had met Professor McGonagall earlier that summer. Normally, only first year students received staff visits, but the Deputy Headmistress made an exception in Emily's case. A few days after her Hogwarts letter arrived, the Professor came to Emilia's house to explain some things more thoroughly, like how to get onto Platform 9 and 3/4. She even took Emily and her parents to Diagon Alley. The magical shops were breathtaking. There were wizarding streets and villages in Canada of course, but none of them had the same history. Compared to Diagon Alley, their stores looked plain and modern. But none if it compared to Hogwarts castle. It was like a fairytale come to life.

Emily was still looking around in awe as the new students walked across the Entrance Hall, when suddenly about fifty ghosts flew overhead. Most of the first years screamed and ducked, but Emily was quite used to seeing ghosts. But her school in Canada, which everyone just called U-CAWW, only had about fifteen ghosts, so even she was a little shaken to see so many all at once.

They walked through the giant doors into the Great Hall, and Emily gasped and stared along with the first years. This was definitely bigger than any room at U-CAWW. She looked up at the floating candles and charmed ceiling, which she'd read about in _Hogwarts: A History_. It was so much more overwhelming than she'd imagined. The glistening plates and goblets filled the room with a golden glow, and Emily felt a little warmer inside. The group climbed up onto a raised stage, and stood in front of the teachers' table. Emily felt every eye in the room on her, or at least she imagined she did. So far, she had only explained her situation to the first years, and the four sixth years who she had shared a cabin with on the train ride over. They had been nice enough, but they mostly left her alone the whole way. They had also heavily promoted Ravenclaw House, but Emily had specifically avoided reading about any of the houses, so she wouldn't be disappointed if she was sorted into one she didn't like. But the sixth years told her that Ravenclaw was where all the smart kids go, Gryffindors liked Quidditch and practical jokes, Slytherins were nasty and evil, and Hufflepuffs were particularly good finders (she was pretty sure that last one was a joke).

Professor McGonagall brought a little three-legged stool into the middle of the stage, and placed an old ratty witch's hat on top of it. A tear near the brim opened up and the hat began to sing a song about the founders of the school. Listening to the song, Emily started to think she wouldn't be sorted into either Gryffindor or Slytherin. She wasn't exactly a coward but she definitely wasn't brave. And as for Slytherin, well she really didn't know how any decent person could be sorted into _that_ house. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seemed okay though; she liked to think she was clever and hard-working.

The crowd of applauding students settled down as Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and unrolled a large scroll of parchment. _Oh no, they really __do__ use parchment here_, Emily suppressed a groan. The wizards in North America used regular muggle paper and pens, so she was dreading getting used to parchment and quills.

The professor addressed the first years. "When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool. When the Hat announces your house, you will go and sit at the appropriate table." She then turned to address the crowd of students. "This year we have a bit of an uncommon situation. A fourth year transfer student from the Upper Canada Academy of Witchcraft And Wizardry will be joining Hogwarts, and she of course must be sorted as well. So, let us begin with," she raised her voice slightly, "Emilia Kaminska!"

Emily walked quickly towards the ratty hat. She could feel the warmth of a blush creeping into her cheeks, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was faint applause, and she noticed it was coming from the little group of Ravenclaws she had sat with on the train. _Aw, that's nice of them_, she thought, and smiled shyly in their direction. She sat on the stool and pulled the hat on; it rested just above her nose. The sound of the room was suddenly muted out, and she heard a pleasant voice coming from the hat. Or was it in her head?

_Ah, so we have a new fourth year, do we? Well, don't worry, you're not the first to enter Hogwarts a little late! So, let me see…Hmm, definitely not Slytherin. _

Emily did a little cheer in her head, and the hat chuckled.

_Yes, most students are pleased to hear that. Maybe Gryffindor, but…no, no I think Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would be a better fit…but which one…_

_I don't know_, she replied subconsciously.

_No preference? Well, you've definitely got the brains for Ravenclaw, there's no doubt about that. Top of your year at your old school, weren't you?_

_Well, tied for first..._Emily corrected him.

_Ah, and humble too, _the hat mused.

_Wait, how did you know that?_

_I know everything you know. Yes, smart, but…somehow I don't think you would be happy in Ravenclaw…_

Emily remembered the conversation the sixth years had on the train. _Yeah, they're a little too boring and stuffy__, _she told the hat_. And sort of, umm, pretentious may be too strong a word but…_she trailed off.

_Yes, yes I'm sure you would excel academically no matter which house you joined. But I think you will have a lot more fun in_, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The last word rang through the Great Hall, and there was a loud cheer from the table to Emily's left, which had black and yellow banners hanging over-head. She took the hat off and walked to the table in a daze. She made a beeline for the empty seats closest to the stage, which had obviously been reserved for the first year students. As she was about to sit down, she noticed three girls about her age waving her over, so she moved to the other side of the table and nervously took a seat in the space they opened up for her.

"You don't want to sit with a bunch of first years, do you?" a dark skinned girl with wild black hair whispered, and Emily shook her head happily.

"Ackerly, Stewert!" was the next name called, and he was sorted into Ravenclaw.

After two more names, Professor McGonagall called, "Bulstrode, Agatha!" to the stage, and the black haired first year who had interrogated Emily stepped forward. There were a few cheers, and Emily looked over to see a similar looking older girl cheering from the Sytherin table. When Agatha Bulstrode was sorted into Slytherin, Emily wasn't surprised, and she made a note to avoid the mean looking older girl who was most likely her sister.

When the sorting finished with "Whitby, Kevin!" joining them at the Hufflepuff table, a tall old wizard with long white hair and a long white beard stood up at the head table.

"That's the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore," the blond girl to Emily's right whispered.

He smiled around at the students and opened his arms wide in welcome. "I have only two words to say to you. _Tuck in_."

"Hear hear!" two boys from what Emily now knew was the Gryffindor table exclaimed, and as she looked around at them she noticed one had messy black hair and round glasses.

"Oh my God," she whispered excitedly to the girls on either side of her, "is that _Harry Potter_?"

They laughed, and the wild-haired girl replied, "Yeah, yeah that's Harry. I guess you sorta forget he's _the_ Harry Potter after a while." But Emily was excited and a little nervous. Even though she was muggleborn, she had heard about Harry Potter ever since her first year. And now that Voldemort was back, she knew Harry would be more important than ever.

"Wow! I mean, I know you guys are used to it, but I'm still a little star-struck," the other girls laughed pleasantly.

"I bet your friends back home will be really jealous when you tell them you're at school with The Boy Who Lived," a girl with shoulder length straight brown hair replied.

"Yeah, yeah probably," Emily replied.

"So I'm Megan by the way, Megan Jones," the wild-haired girl said. "And that's Hannah Abbot," she said and gestured towards the blonde girl, who waved, "and Susan Bones," she finished, nodding to the brunette.

"We're all in fourth year too!" Hannah exclaimed. "You'll be sharing a room with us!"

"Awesome!" Emily smiled shyly, not knowing what else to say. But Susan spoke up.

"Well I'm starving," she said, and turned her attention to the table. "I hope you like British food, Emilia!"

"Oh, you can call me Emily," she replied, and gasped as food suddenly appeared on the table.

The feast was so much grander than Emily had ever imagined. U-CAWW wasn't a boarding school; the students used the Floo Network or portkeys to get to and from school every day. They did serve hot lunch, but it cost extra, so Emily normally brought food from home. She had a feeling she was really going to enjoy the meals at Hogwarts.

The table was filled with roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, bacon, steak, and all sorts of potatoes and vegetables and sauces. Dessert was even better, with ice cream, pies, tarts, éclairs, donuts, fruits, and puddings. There was too much to try it all, and thankfully there was barely anything she didn't recognize. Her new classmates did convince her to try a couple of new foods though. She couldn't suppress the giggle when they presented her with "spotted dick," which she was relieved to learn was just a fruit cake.

The meal passed pleasantly, and Emily was quickly introduced to the fourth year boys in Hufflepuff, who were sitting across the table from them.

"So, are you muggle-born, pure-blood, or half-blood?" Justin Fitch-Fletchly asked right after they were introduced. Before she even had to time to react, he raced on. "I'm muggle-born. I was set to go to Eton before I found out I was a wizard," he said proudly.

Megan started to laugh and Hannah tried to hide a smile. Emily nodded politely but didn't know how to reply.

"She doesn't know what that _is_, Justin. She's from _Canada_," Susan said, half annoyed and half amused.

"She may have heard of it," Justin replied hotly. They all looked at Emily expectantly.

She felt nervous under all their stares, but then suddenly remembered something. "Isn't that the school Captain Hook went to in Peter Pan?"

The fourth years burst into laughter. Justin looked cross at first but then joined in despite himself. Emily laughed lightly, and the knot in her stomach loosened a bit. It seems she really was meant to be a Hufflepuff.

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**AN:** This first chapter really reminds me of the style of the first few books. It's more cheerful and straight to the point. I do have more of this story written and I hope to post more soon. The ship really gets going in the third chapter. Please Review. :)


	2. The Hufflepuff Common Room

**AN:** This is a short chapter, but it's necessary for filling in stuff and establishing friendships. Enjoy. :)

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**The Hufflepuff Common Room**

After the feast was over, Emilia and the other fourth years made their way out of the Great Hall. Everyone was chatting loudly about all the revelations that had occurred after dessert. Megan and Zacharias Smith were ranting loudly about the cancellation of the Quidditch Cup, as they were both Chasers on the Hufflepuff team. Then there was the Triwizard Tournament, which Emilia vaguely remembered reading about. There was also the scary new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. D.A.D.A. was normally one of her favourite subjects, but she wasn't sure if she would like it this year. Susan was trying to convince them that her aunt who worked at the Ministry of Magic said Professor Moody wasn't so bad, when the group was stopped momentarily by a handsome older student. He asked Emily if she needed help finding the common room, but the other fourth years assured him she didn't.

"Who was that?" Emily whispered as he made his way back to the first years.

"That's Cedric Diggory," Susan replied with a sly smile. "He's the Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. And Megan is totally in love with him."

Megan looked up quickly from her conversation with Zacharias. "Shut up, I am not!" she shouted, then returned to ranting about Quidditch.

"He's also a Prefect." Ernie McMillan added. "I hope to be one next year."

"Ooh, I read about those in _Hogwarts: A History_!" Emily said excitedly.

"Didn't they have Prefects at your old school?" Susan asked.

"No. No I think they had them back in the day, but they don't anymore. They do have a valedictorian though," Emily answered.

"What's that?" asked Hannah.

"I guess like a Head Boy and Girl, except…Hey wait a minute, what are those hourglasses for?" Emily paused suddenly, pointing at the four giant hourglasses near the entrance of the school. She'd noticed them when she was waiting to be sorted.

"They record the points for the House Cup. We almost won it last year!" Hannah replied. "Did Professor McGonagall explain the House Cup to you guys?" Emily nodded. "She was pretty distracted because Peeves was being a pain earlier, so I thought maybe she missed it. Anyway, it's a lot harder to earn points than to lose them."

"Oh don't worry, I don't plan on breaking any rules," Emily said. "And I get good grades so…Wait, who's Peeves?" The rest of their walk to the Hufflepuff common room was spent discussing Peeves and the ghosts, especially the house ghosts. She also learned about the different house colours and animals.

It turned out her new common room was pretty close to the Great Hall, which was good news because she couldn't wait to get out of her dirty clothes and wash her hair. The Hufflepuffs walked across the Entrance Hall, and through a door to the right of the big marble staircase. As they descended the stone steps, Emily was momentarily worried that she'd be living in a dank basement, but they emerged into a wide hallway with bright torches and colorful paintings, mainly of food.

They made their way past a painting of a giant silver fruit-bowl, which Susan explained led to the kitchens. They came to a halt in front of a stack of large barrels in a shadowy nook on the right side of the hallway. Ernie showed Emily which barrel to tap with her wand (two from the bottom, middle of the second row) and in what tune, and Zacharias explained that if she ever tapped the wrong barrel or the wrong tune, she'd be sprayed with vinegar. Emilia gulped nervously and vowed to write all this down once she got to her room. As they began to crawl through the tunnel that opened up in the barrel, her new friends hummed the tune helpfully a few more times.

_Hel-ga Huff-le-puff. _

Tap tap taptaptap.

Emily was starting to worry about getting doused with vinegar on her first day of classes, when the tunnel ended and she got her first glimpse of the Hufflepuff common room. Even at night, it was bright and yellowy-orange. The room was round, its walls made of honey coloured polished wood and soft looking bricks, with round windows. There were plants and flowers everywhere; on shelves, window ledges, and hanging from the ceiling, but no so many that it looked cluttered. A bright yellow-orange glow came from the large round fireplace, which was decorated with carved dancing badgers. The light reflected off all the copper accessories in the room.

The biggest painting in the room was of a happy plump witch, who toasted the students with a small golden cup. Emilia knew it was Helga Hufflepuff without having to ask. The chairs and couches were puffy, and upholstered mostly in yellow and black patterns. The room had a fairly low ceiling, but that only made it cosier. It fact, this was the cosiest room Emily had ever seen, and the round doors on either side of the fireplace suddenly reminded her of the Hobbit hole from her favourite book. She realized she would love nothing more than to spend the next four years here.

The fourth year girls said goodnight to the fourth year boys, and they all departed to their separate dorms. Emily followed the girls down the hallway, and through the door marked "Fourth Years" in a loopy hand. She was pleased to find this room was just as cheerful as the last. There were four old fashioned wooden beds with posts, draped with thick yellow hangings for privacy. The hangings were all pushed aside to reveal colourful quilts and far too many pillows. A copper lamp hung over each bed, casting a warm light. _Perfect for reading_, Emily thought sleepily.

She didn't have to guess which bed was hers, as somebody else had already found it. She went to greet her kitten, who was perched on the edge of a bed to her right, farthest from the door.

"Hi, baby," she said soothingly and scratched the top of the kitten's head. The kitten made an angry noise, but then started to purr.

"Aw, you have a kitten?" Megan said excitedly and ran to pet the cat, who bounded away to the head of the bed.

"Yeah, but she's half Kneazle, so she doesn't like strangers," Emily replied apologetically.

"Oh, cool!" Megan exclaimed and moved to the bed beside Emily to get changed. "Yeah she looks like a Kneazle, doesn't she?"

Emily nodded. The kitten's ears were much larger than a cat's, with little tufts on the ends, and she was cream coloured, with some light brown spots across her back. But her tail wasn't plumed like a pure-bred Kneazle's would be, it was banded like a tabby's, with alternating cream coloured and light brown stripes.

"Don't worry, she'll grow to love me," Megan said confidently and flashed a bright smile, then closed her yellow hangings around her. "What's her name?" she asked, slightly muffled.

"Praline," Emily replied. She closed her own hangings as well, and started to take off her now dry, but utterly filthy clothes. "Like the candy."

"Aww," the other girls said in unison.

"That's cute," Susan added. "I'd love to bring my cat to Hogwarts, but we all have owls because they're more 'practical.' Ugh."

Emily laughed lightly. "Well, the only reason I finally got a cat was because my parents felt bad for moving to another country."

"Why did you move here anyway?" Megan asked.

"Oh, well, my step-dad's company just opened up a location in London, so they wanted him to help run it," Emily answered.

"Ooooh, cool, so are you like rich?" Megan asked excitedly.

"Not that we care," Hannah added quickly.

"Umm, no, not really," Emily replied. She slipping on her new matching bathrobe and slippers (they were white with cupcakes on them), and gathered together her bathroom items. She hoped she only had to share a bathroom with the three girls. "I mean, we have a nice house I guess. Well it's not a house, it's like...attached. Like a townhouse. A terrace house, I think the real-estate lady called it. And it's in a nice neighbourhood. There's a park down the street...and some shops. But, my parents don't really buy me stuff unless I need it. My mom loves sales. We didn't really have much money until she met my step-dad." Emily opened her curtain.

"Where's your dad dad?" Megan asked. Hannah shot her a look but Megan didn't notice.

"Oh, he's still in Canada. Actually," Emily laughed lightly, "he doesn't even know I'm witch. My mom and I thought it would freak him out too much."

"Aw, well don't worry, we're all freaks here," Megan smiled and winked. The other girls laughed and Emily joined in.

"I think you're going to fit in great with us," Susan added.

"Thanks, I think so too," Emily smiled happily. "So, where's the bathroom? I really need a bath after that boat ride."

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After a long hot bath, Emily changed into her new cupcake pajamas (her mom had gone a little back-to-school crazy). She settled into her new warm bed with her new warm kitten. Hannah showed her how to use the old-fashioned copper bed warmers that hung on the wall, and she quickly fell asleep, exhausted after her first day at Hogwarts.


	3. Shh!

**AN:** This is the first chapter I wrote for this fic, and it's my favourite. It's also where the ship starts. Enjoy!

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**Shh!**

During the final week of September, the fourth years were assigned a two foot long essay about their constellation of choice, due in three weeks. Emilia had always liked Astronomy, even though they didn't teach it at U-CAWW, so she was excited to get started. She was a Gemini, so naturally she was going to write her essay about it. She planned to include a brief story of the twins it was named after, Castor and Pollux, brothers of Helen of Troy. She also thought it might be interesting to talk about how other cultures viewed star gazing and what it meant to them. So, ultimately, she was going to need a lot of extra books.

Emilia had gone to the library the very first day of class, and she loved doing her homework there. It was much quieter than the Hufflepuff common room, and its history and grandeur made her feel studious. The high ceiling and seemingly infinite shelves were much more impressive than the library at U-CAWW. It looked just like a centuries old library should look like. Unfortunately, it also had a centuries old filing system.

In North America, the magical community kept some of its traditions, but it was much faster to adapt to muggle technologies. Witches and wizards tinkered with new inventions so they could run on magic, not batteries or electricity. The library at U-CAWW had abandoned the old filing system a few years before Emily got there, and was now using an old computer that the librarian charmed every morning. Emily hadn't dealt with index cards since she was about 9 years old, and Madam Pince was helpful, but not very nice. So by the time Emily was looking for her last book, she was not in a good mood.

She wanted to discuss the importance of the Gemini constellation to the Centaurs, and she was really hoping to rely on her final book, _Centaurs and the Stars_. She was especially hoping for some good one-liner quotes. To her dismay, when she got to the call-number, there was a gap where the book was supposed to be. She decided to take the risk and ask Madam Pince for help again. Thankfully, there was a record of checked-out books.

"That book has not been checked out, so either someone is reading it in the library or they put it back in the wrong place," Madam Pince told her in a stern voice, as if it was Emily's fault she couldn't find it. Emily felt a pang of longing for the librarian at her old school, Mr. Adams, who was very nice (and very good looking).

"Oh…" Emily responded. "Well, is there any way to check if it's in the wrong spot?"

"Not during school hours," Madam Pince retorted. "I do a sweep every night when the library is closed. The rest of the time the books are blocked from _Accio_ charms."

"Oh…" _That's so stupid. What a stupid system_, Emily thought. "Well do you know what it looks like? Maybe I can look around to see if someone is using it and I can ask to borrow it," Emily reasoned.

Madam Pince sighed. _As if asking her to do her job is such a burden_, Emily thought. "I believe it's a big dark green tome with gold trim, and there is a golden picture of a Centaur on the front. Now if there is nothing else, Ms. Kaminiski, I really need to be getting back to work."

Emily rolled her eyes and walked back to a table between two large windows which she had commandeered as her own. She sat down in front of her books and thought about what to do. She really wasn't a very outgoing person, and the thought of asking a stranger to borrow a book that she had no right to (since they found it first) made her stomach turn. But, she figured there was no harm in casually walking past some tables to see if anyone had it. And if she found it, well she would decide what to do from there.

Emily walked along the tables by the windows near her, but there were only two people there and neither of them had a big green book. She then walked to the centre of the library where most of the tables were, and began her search, starting from the back. When she got to about the middle, she noticed a big green book at the top of a small pile, sitting to the left of a platinum blonde boy who had his back to her. As she approached, she carefully examined the cover. It had gold trim and a big blob on the front, which probably could have passed for a Centaur a hundred years ago. As she got closer she noticed the boy was reading another book and was steadily writing notes. She recognized him as a Slytherin from her year, but she didn't have any classes with him. Since he wasn't using _Centaurs and the Stars _yet, and seemed deeply engrossed in something else, she figured she would take a chance and ask if she could borrow it. At least she didn't have to worry about talking to an older kid.

She walked around to the front of his table, hoping this would get his attention. But when he didn't look up after a few seconds she cleared her throat and said timidly, "Umm, hi."

The boy still didn't look up, and if anything he seemed to start writing more frantically.

"Excuse me?" she tried again after a few seconds.

"What?" the boy snapped, and finally looked up. A smirk spread slowly across his lips, but Emily hardly noticed. She was taken aback by his striking eyes. They were pale and grey, with a slightly darker outline around the iris. They looked almost like silver coins.

"Oh, umm, sorry. But I just noticed you have _Centaurs and the Stars _there, and you're not using it right now so I was just wondering if I could use it for a quick second," she said very quickly. "Well, I mean, it will take like a few minutes but I can use it right here so you know I won't run off with it," she finished with a nervous laugh.

The blonde boy looked extremely bored. "No," he said simply, and looked back down at his parchment.

Emily was taken aback. She should have dropped it and walked away. After all, she was the one asking for a favour. But she couldn't believe this jerk wouldn't let her use a book he hadn't even opened yet! "But, you're not even using it yet," she said in a voice that was meant to sound polite but came out bossy.

At least this got the boy's attention. He put his quill down gently and leaned back slowly in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. "So, you're that new Hufflepuff," he said in the laziest voice she'd ever heard.

"Yeah," Emily answered, exasperated. _What kind of person interrogates someone before lending them a book? _she thought.

"What's your name again?"

"Emilia Kaminska," she paused, then added, "what's yours?"

"Draco Malfoy," he said proudly, as if it should have meant something to her. It didn't.

"Well, nice to meet you, Draco," she managed to say politely.

"Don't call me Draco," he snapped.

"O…kay," Emily replied. _This guy's got issues_, she thought. _Let's get back to that book_. "So anyway, can - "

"What kind of a name is _that_?" Malfoy interrupted.

"Draco Malfoy? I dunno, you tell me," she tried to joke. "I know Draco's a constellation…"

"Don't be stupid, I meant _your_ name," Malfoy replied.

Emily almost didn't want to tell him. She knew this guy would have something to say about it, and she really didn't want to hear it. _Well, it can't be worse than anything else I've heard_, she thought. So she answered, "It's Polish. I was born there but - "

The boy plastered an ugly sneer on his face. "Polish, American, _and _a Hufflepuff? What bet did _you_ lose?"

Emily didn't know which to tackle first. She decided to correct the blatantly false statement first. "I'm _Canadian_, not American. Big difference. And Polish history is _filled_ with powerful and successful witches and wizards who - "

Malfoy interrupted again. "What's your blood-line then, if Polish wizards are so great?"

Emily sighed internally. Her old teachers had warned her that kids at Hogwarts would care about blood purity. There were still some North American witches and wizards who cared about it too of course, but they mostly kept their prejudice to themselves. During her three years at U-CAWW, she was only ever asked about it as a matter of curiosity; about how muggles live, what it's like to suddenly have magic, how her parents reacted to it, and so on. There was one girl, in second year, who got teased for being muggleborn, but that was on top of getting teased for several other things, and the teachers took it very seriously. Her new friends in Hufflepuff hadn't come out and asked about her family, (except Justin on the first day) but it had come up in conversation. They didn't seem to care though, but they told her there were some people at Hogwarts who _did_ care, especially those in Slytherin.

So now Emily was going to have to deal with her first experience of blood purity discrimination (as her old Magical-Muggle Relations teacher called it). So, should she boldly announce her muggleborn-ness, and risk punching this guy out if he said anything nasty, or…well she did really want that book.

"I don't see how that's any of _your_ business," she glared coldly at Malfoy and crossed her arms.

He snorted again. "Well, that can only mean one thing." He put his chair back down to its proper position, picked up his quill, and looked back down at his paper. "Now go away and leave me alone, you stupid little Hufflepuff."

Emily fumed. She grabbed the Centaur book roughly, and said loudly and pointedly, "Go to hell, _Draco_," then turned and walked away.

"Shhh!" came Madam Pince's angry reproach.

Emily's heart was racing. Her first month at Hogwarts and she'd just made enemies with a boy who, although probably had no real influence, sure did _believe _himself to be quite important. She picked up her pace a little bit as she feared he might just send some sort of curse at her back. Nonetheless, she felt good about defending herself. She hadn't felt this kind of rush since third year. There was a boy named Jackson, who was nice enough in general but he kept making Polish jokes, and one day she finally told him, 'Shut up, Jackson! No-one cares what you think!' Like today, she had turned and stormed off in a huff. Unlike today, Jackson had apologized about an hour later. She did not expect the same consideration from Malfoy.

When Emily reached her table, she had to will herself to concentrate on her essay. She took her sweet time with _Centaurs and the Stars_, and when she was finished, she contemplated what to do with it. Of course, her first thought was to put it back on the shelf. If Malfoy wanted it back he could look for it himself. But then another thought struck her. Her elementary school teachers had always said, "turn the other cheek," which at this moment she preferred to interpret as "kill 'em with kindness." _How much would it annoy him off if I returned the book? Like, see, I _told_ you I wouldn't take that long, jerk! Yeah, I was mean to you, but in the end I'm still the better person_. Hmm, she wondered if Malfoy was even capable of such deep thoughts, or if he would just think he won because he got his book back. But, when she pictured herself returning it, she really enjoyed the thought of slamming the book right down in front of him. So, that's exactly what she decided to do.

Emily walked right back to where Draco was still sitting and quietly approached his table. As she had imagined, he didn't make any sort of indication that he noticed her. She dropped the book onto the pile she had taken it from. She didn't slam it down or drop it from very high, but since it was a big book it made a very satisfying thud. Malfoy looked up, startled, Madam Pince shushed her again, and Emily walked away feeling quite satisfied with herself.

_I really have no idea how I ended up in Hufflepuff_, Emily thought as she walked back to her table.

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**AN:** Badgers strike when they're threatened, and can take on animals much stronger than themselves!

P.S. I would love some reviews, especially since this chapter is my favourite. :)


	4. The Yule Ball

**AN:** I like this chapter, it's cute. :)

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**The Yule Ball**

She was going to the Yule Ball with Wayne Hopkins. Quiet, nerdy, barely-said-two-words-to-her-since-September, Wayne Hopkins. Hey, not that she should be complaining. She's lucky to have anyone to go with, since this is the first date she'd ever had in her whole life. Well, except for that one her mom set up for her when she was 10, but that didn't even count. Not that this "date" was much more impressive, since they were the only two fourth year Hufflepuffs left without dates, and their friends had arranged the whole thing. The girls insisted Wayne actually liked her but was too shy to say so, but Emily didn't really believe them. Still, it would be nice not to show up alone.

Wayne's nerdiness didn't bother her so much, since she was basically a nerd herself. It was the shyness she wasn't sure if she could handle. She would much rather have gone with Ernie, he was nice and easy to talk to, but according to Megan he and Susan had been flirty since first year, so obviously Emily was glad they were going together. And Megan, well she was going with Zacharias. Although he was very attractive, Megan was one of the few people who can stand him for more than 5 minutes, so that was probably a good pairing. At least they could talk about Quidditch. As for Justin, he was going with Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw.

And then there was Steve Cornfoot. Attractive, friendly, smart, not too funny but always laughed at others jokes. Of course Emily didn't stand a chance with Steve. He was going with Hannah, which was perfect since Hannah was gorgeous as well.

As she stood in front of the mirror thinking about all this, she really felt very glad to be in Hufflepuff. All the girls were awesome; she'd even made a new best friend, Megan. But really the four Hufflepuff girls had all become best friends over the short months. And the guys, well Ernie and Stephen were great, Zacharias was good about sharing his notes and explaining anything magical she didn't understand (though he made her feel like a 5 year old while doing it), Justin was nice once you got to know him, and Wayne was shy. She sighed, _beggars can't be choosers_.

"You look great, Em!" Megan exclaimed, standing beside her in the mirror. "I really don't know what you were so worried about."

"Really? You don't think it's too low cut?" Emily said worriedly as she looked down. The sparkly baby blue dress hugged her chest in a deep v-neck, and flared out at the waist to disguise her hips. "Well no, I guess you wouldn't," she smirked at Megan's skin-tight black gown. Megan had straightened her long black hair for the occasion, and she looked like some sort of sexy secret agent.

Megan laughed, "Hey, we've gotta show off our ass-ets, right?" and tapped her bum lightly against Emily's. Emily laughed and looked at herself again. Her breasts definitely were one of her best assets, even if the rest of her body wasn't exactly perfect. She was wearing much more make-up than usual for the occasion. She normally only wore a simple concealer on her face; it was a magical lotion really, that covered imperfections. Most girls at Hogwarts wore that, but only a few of the fourth year girls had started wearing real make-up. But they had all indulged for the Ball. Emilia was wearing mascara, eye-shadow, and a pale pink lip-gloss, and she noticed it really did make her look nicer (even if it would be far too much trouble on a regular day).

Emily's hair looked really good tonight too. The girls had helped her curl it into about a million loose ringlets. Some of it was tied back from her face in thin braids, and there were little blue, pink, and purple flowers woven into it. Standing next to Megan, they almost looked like an innocent angel and sexy devil, except that Emily's dress accentuated her breasts much more.

Hannah frowned slightly at them from across the room, "Didn't you say your mum's the one who talked you into getting that dress?" she asked Emily.

"Yeah, my mom's like that. She's always saying you've gotta show more skin when you're young because when you're old you won't be able to." Megan and Susan giggled but Hannah kept frowning.

"I wish _my_ mum was like that," Susan said, examining her hot pink dress robes. "I couldn't even get a normal dress."

Megan gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm, as Hannah muttered something about "age appropriate" and "14 year old boys" and finished tying a ribbon around her old fashioned sparkly deep purple dress robes.

"Listen Hannah, you're gonna look hotter than us no matter what you wear, so quit being a prude and let us be slutty for a night!" Megan said, with only a hint of anger in her voice.

"That's not true, you all look great!" Hannah exclaimed. "You really do." She looked at Emily, who was frowning at her. "Sorry for saying anything, I really don't think your dress is that bad. Plus you're going with Wayne, so we know you're safe either way," she offered a smile, and Emily smiled back. There was no way she could stay mad at Hannah, no matter how proper she could be at times.

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The Hufflepuffs had a great time at the ball. Emily even danced with a few boys from other houses and a few older boys, most notably George Weasley, which was a little intimidating but memorable, to say the least. She was surprised by how much Wayne wanted to dance with her. By the third hour, he was pretty sweaty and in fact the whole Great Hall was feeling a little hot and muggy, so Emily decided to do something she never would have dreamed of doing willingly in Canada in December: she went outside. The big bulky coat she'd brought from home was far too stuffy in the mild Scottish climate, so she unzipped it part of the way.

She wandered over to the bench in the little garden the professors or whoever had set up just outside the Great Hall, with the little fire flies. _Hagrid, probably_, she thought, _I bet he set it up_. Her peaceful thoughts were interrupted by a shrill female voice, coming closer and closer.

"Listen, I don't care how low cut her dress was, okay? You can't just go around looking at some Huffle - " Pansy Parkinson stomped into the garden, Draco Malfoy behind her, and immediately spotted Emily. Emily subconsciously looked down at her dress. _Meh, she can't be talking about me anyway_, she thought. "What the hell are you doing here?" Pansy demanded.

"Sitting on a bench?" Emily offered. This made Pansy fume even more.

"Oh ha ha, what a clever little mudblood you are. Now get out," she shouted.

Emily was never one to back down to a bully, so she held her ground. "Well, considering I was sitting here before you two barged in, I don't really see why _I_ should go anywhere. Draco, maybe you can explain it better? Your girlfriend seems a bit hysterical," she couldn't help bringing him into this, she really had had a laugh bantering with his in the library that one time. Plus, getting the chance to use his first name was too irresistible to give up.

"Ugh, shut UP!" Pansy stormed and raised her wand. Emily barely had hers out of her pocket as she cast a silent _Protego_ charm. Pansy shouted, "FURNUNCULUS!" but it bounced off the invisible shield. A few dozen fire flies flew noisily out of a bush behind Pansy, who gasped, "How did you do that?"

"_Protego_. You really should pay more attention in class," Emily smiled slyly.

"You can do nonverbal magic?" Malfoy spoke up. He sounded mildly surprised.

"Uh huh. I guess we muggleborn Polish-Canadians aren't so worthless after all," Emily replied, and strolled back to the castle, with an amazed Draco staring after her. Pansy looked ready to kill.

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**AN:** I love reviews :)


	5. Herbology

**AN: **I'm pretty tired as I edit this, so I apologize for any mistakes. If you spot any, feel free to send me a message and I'll fix them later. :)

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**Herbology**

Emilia got sick during the last few days of Christmas holiday. If she were still at U-CAWW, she could have just stayed home and missed the first few days of school, no problem. But unless her parents wanted to pay for a train ticket up to Scotland after term started, this was not an option at Hogwarts. So, she spent the trip back to Hogsmeade alone in a cabin, bundled up in a big warm blanket and trying, unsuccessfully, to sleep.

She missed the first three days of term, and when she got to her first class, she was met with an unpleasant surprise.

"What? I have to work with _who_?" she asked Professor Sprout indignantly.

"I'm sorry, Emilia, but both of you were absent on the first day of term so there was no other choice," Professor Sprout said apologetically.

Emily looked around desperately at the rest of the class. Well, at least Zacharias got stuck with Blaise Zabini, she didn't want to think about how their conversations would go. E_ep, epic pissing contest_, she thought with an inward smile. But then she looked at her new Herbology partner and her inward smile quickly vanished. Draco Malfoy.

"But can't we both just work in groups of three with some other pair?" Emily nearly begged.

"Oh, suck it up, princess," Draco drawled unexpectedly. He looked bored and annoyed, but little did she know he had been fascinated with her since their encounter in the library, and even more so after the Yule Ball. And Draco Malfoy was rarely fascinated with anyone.

"Yes well…on that note, Mr. Malfoy can fill you in on the project, since he only missed the first day back. I trust you two can be mature about this," Professor Sprout looked pointedly at Malfoy, who gave no indication that he'd heard her. She walked away to help Pansy, who had been desperately trying to get her attention. As Emily watched Madam Sprout go she noticed Pansy was glaring daggers at her. She gave her a sarcastically sweet smile in return and turned to Draco.

"So…we have to raise these thingies all term? Like babies?" she asked, pointing down at a large rectangular pot of soil.

"They're called _Mandrakes_, haven't you heard of them? I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be good at Herbology," he scoffed.

"No, that's only because Professor Sprout is the Head of House now-a-days, it's not a qualification for becoming a Hufflepuff or anything. I'm actually terrible with plants." Emily replied.

"There are _qualifications_ for becoming a Hufflepuff?" Malfoy asked with exaggerated awe. "Aren't you just the riff-raff the other houses didn't want?"

"Okay, that's it. I'd rather take a failing grade than put up with this all term," Emily stood up swiftly and began to walk towards Madam Pomfry, whose face was now covered in soil. Pansy and her partner were barely holding back their laughter. Emily hesitated for a moment, wondering if now was the best time to pester her Head of House. In that moment of hesitation, Draco called her back.

"What, you can't take a little jeering, Kaminska? I thought badgers were tough? Now don't you wanna hit me with a hockey stick or something?" He said, not entirely unpleasantly.

Emily walked back to him slowly, "Oh, I could think of a lot worse things to do to you with a hockey stick, _Malfoy_," she replied, with a sly smile. She was secretly impressed he'd pronounced her last name right.

"That's better," Malfoy returned her sly smile for a second, but quickly went back to his bored expression and lazy drawl. "So we're supposed to raise these things from seedlings to adults, and the second years use them for some of their classes too. I guess it's also supposed to be like a sexual education class, which is why most people are paired with the opposite sex," he explained.

"What about Zacharias and Blaise Zabini?" Emily asked.

Draco shrugged, "Zacharias Zabini has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Emily giggled despite herself. _Wow, have I just shared a joke with Draco Malfoy?_

"So, you really don't know anything about mandrakes?" Draco gestured to the plants.

"Nope," she answered. "We weren't going to start Herbology until fourth year, when we went to CAWW."

"What?" Draco blinked.

"Oh, sorry, that's the Canadian Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everyone just calls it CAWW. You don't start there until you're 14. It's a boarding school and all the witches and wizards from across Canada go there. Well, except the Quebecers, they've got their own system. But before that, when you're 11, you go to a smaller school, there's three of those across Canada. I went to U-CAWW, that's the Upper Canada Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Upper Canada is just the old name for Ontario. Anyway there were only 7 of us in my year at U-CAWW, and it was nice because for the first three years we mostly concentrated on spell work and potions, you know, stuff you need more one-on-one help with. And then in later years, when it's a bigger class, you can do stuff you don't need as much personal help with, like Herbology, History of Magic, Astrology…That's why I can do nonverbal magic," Emily finished, vividly remembering Malfoy's reaction at the Yule Ball.

"Oh…" Draco said. He considered making a retort about how he could do nonverbal spells too by now if they had taught him, but he decided against it. Meanwhile, Emily had flipped to the chapter on Mandrakes in her textbook and was absently looking it over.

"It's really not that hard. And then once you can do nonverbal magic it's a lot easier to do wandless magic," Emily added casually as she looked with disgust at the pictures. "_This_ is what they look - "

"You can do _wandless_ magic?" Malfoy asked, unable to keep the shock out of his voice. If Emily knew him better, she would know how out of character that was.

"Yeah…well I mean, anybody can do wandless magic under the right circumstance," she replied, still flipping through the book, looking more and more disgusted at the pictures. "I couldn't do it like, _right now_, since my wand is right in my pocket and I'm not in danger. But if, let's say Voldemort," Malfoy winced at the name, but she didn't notice, "came bursting in here right now and _Expelliarmused_ my wand, well I'd be fairly easy for me to do wandless magic, whereas I'm sure a lot of you guys would be screwed," she said this all very casually, even though she was exaggerating her skills a little. Draco bitterly thought, _I'm sure I'd be pretty safe…_

"How exactly -?" he started.

"Alright class! I've had enough for the day!" Professor Sprout shouted. Emily looked over and saw her Head of House was covered head to toe in dirt, and the Slytherins weren't even trying to hold back their laughter. "Everybody please put your Mandrakes back on the shelves and you can leave."

Emily snapped her book shut and turned to Malfoy, "Okay, well I'll read this chapter tonight so I actually know something about these things. Thanks for planting them and stuff while I was sick. See ya!" She sprinted off to join the other Hufflepuffs help Madam Sprout.

Draco was left staring at the long wavy blonde hair that billowed behind her as she ran. He had so many questions he still wanted to ask. _How exactly do you do nonverbal magic? How do you know about You Know Who; do other countries really talk about him? Do you not know my family's association with him? Did you just use "Expelliarmus" as a verb? _He decided to ask all, or most, of these questions during their next Herbology lesson.

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Unfortunately, during the next few lessons, the fourth years only had time to quickly water their Mandrakes and check on their progress, and then they moved on to studying different plants. It wasn't until about two weeks later, when the Mandrakes were beginning to sprout their leaves, when they were finally paired back up for the whole period.

"Okay, so it says here their leaves are supposed to be light green with a tinge of purple. And it says some may be leaning more towards blue or pink, depending on the sex of the mandrake. Do any of them look blue or pink to you yet? They all still look purple to me," Emilia said, looking from the book to the five little seedlings.

Draco humoured her lazily, "They all look purple to me too. We're not supposed to know the sex until they're a month old though."

"Yeah I know, but I was hoping they might change colour earlier," Emily shrugged, and jotted something down in their Mandrake Journal. "_January 20th, leaves sprouting, one centimetre, light green with a tinge of purple._ Is that okay?"

"Centimetre?" Draco asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Oh right, sorry. You Brits and your weird system," she gave a small laugh. "How much is that in inches then?"

Draco looked more closely at the plants. "About half an inch."

"Okay great," she did a quick erase charm and replaced the measurement. Then she started sketching a little drawing of the leaves the Mandrakes were sprouting.

As Draco watched her, he noticed something he'd been meaning to ask for a while. "Why don't you use a quill?"

"I think the better question is, why don't _you_ use a pen?" Emily replied without looking up.

Draco thought for a second, then said, "Pens are for muggles," with only the smallest hint of an insult.

"Right, sure, they were _invented_ by muggles. But so were trains, and Hogwarts students take one to school every year. Why? Because it's more convenient. So while you guys sit there with your quills and ink bottles, getting yourselves all dirty, well…" she clicked her pen closed and put it in her pocket, to demonstrate how much easier it was. "In Canada, we're not as hung up on the old traditions."

"But how do the professors let you get away with it?" he asked.

Emily retrieved her pen and started drawing again. "I dunno, they haven't said anything about it. As long as it's in ink I don't think they care," she shrugged. "You should try it some time, it's a lot easier. Muggles invent things to make life easier for themselves, since they can't use magic."

"Yes, thank you, Professor Burbage," Draco retorted, with the hint of a grin. He was starting to think this Hufflepuff girl wasn't so bad. There weren't many students he could carry on semi-friendly banter with, without it turning into a full blown argument. Of course, it helped that a good chunk of their grade depended on them getting along.

"Oh, you've taken Muggle Studies?" Emily asked, then quickly reconsidered. "Wait, of course not, you're the one who…" she trailed off.

"Who what?" Draco asked.

"Nothing. So anyway -"

"Who hates muggles and muggleborns? Is that what you were going to say?" Draco was starting to get a little angry now. _Dammit, why does she have to be a mudblood?_

"Well…well don't you? I mean, you're only being nice to me because we have to work on this project together, aren't you? Because otherwise…well I've heard what you call muggleborns…"

Draco didn't know how to respond. He picked up their watering can and left to put it back on the shelf. As he was walking away, he heard her shout, "Madam Sprout? Can I go to the bathroom?" When he returned to their bench, her backpack and books were gone, and their Mandrake Journal lay open, with her blue pen sitting where she'd left it.

As Emilia hurried across the grounds to the castle, she couldn't stop herself from shedding a few tears. He'd been so decent to her these past few weeks, but in the end, her stupid blood was all her cared about. _How can people seriously still think it makes a difference? Hermione Granger's the best witch in our year and she's a muggleborn. And I'm probably the second or third best student and I'm a muggleborn too! And then look at like, Crabbe and Goyle, those idiotic pure bloods. _The shear injustice and stupidity of the whole thing was too much for her to handle. She wanted to make some sort of statement, to do _something_ that would show that stupid Malfoy that muggleborns shouldn't be treated like mud. But she had absolutely no idea how to do it.

When she entered the castle, students were slowly wandering into the Great Hall. She saw Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter among them. Without thinking, she smiled and waved at Hermione, even though she hardly knew her. Hermione looked confused, but smiled and waved back. Emily noticed the giant S.P.E.W button the Gryffindor girl was wearing, and suddenly got an idea. She started walking towards the trio. Hermione paused to wait, and the boys stopped too.

"Umm, hi," Emily said, suddenly nervous.

"Hi, Emilia, what's up?" Hermione asked pleasantly.

"Oh, well I was just wondering if I could have one of those S.P.E.W buttons," she said.

"Of course! Just a second," Hermione answered. She took her backpack off, shoved it into Ron's arms, and started rifling through it. Emily suddenly caught Ron's eye and noticed he was looking at her chest. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Oh, no no," Ron stammered. "I was just looking at your Cedric pin. How come it doesn't say 'Potter Stinks'?"

Emily was relieved. "Oh, well I undid the enchantment. I want Cedric to win since he's from my house," she looked at Harry, "but I wouldn't mind if you won either," she smiled shyly and blushed.

"Thanks," Harry said and smiled back.

"Here," Hermione handed her a pin. "Now I can give it to you for free but I do appreciate donations." Ron scoffed, and Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oh, umm of course," Emily replied. She dug around in her pocket and found a Sickle, "here."

"Thank you," Hermione said.

"You're welcome," Emily replied, and didn't know what else to say, so she just gestured that she needed to go to her common room and bid them farewell. As she was retreating she heard Hermione say something along the lines of, "See, I told you other people…" and Ron say something back and laughed.

As Emilia walked away, she felt a comradery with Hermione, and by extension, all muggleborns. She didn't feel especially passionate about elf rights, but since nobody was handing out buttons that said, 'Muggleborns are awesome! Malfoy's a jerk!' she figured this was the next best thing.

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**AN:** Please tell me what you thought of this chapter in a review. :)


	6. A Startling Realization

**A Startling Realization**

She was in a giant building. In an old, dilapidated building, and she had no idea how she got there. Everything was dark and dusty. She looked up; moonlight was streaming in through a cracked stained glass window. _Oh, it's a church_, she thought, but the thought hardly comforted her. Suddenly there was a crash and she was running, she was running deeper into the church, but she was hardly moving at all.

She was running in slow motion, then the scene dissolved around her and she was standing outside the church. She gazed at it, and suddenly felt someone standing beside her. She turned to look, and it was Malfoy. It was daylight now, and there was a circus or fair behind him. A colourful Ferris wheel and red roller coaster stood out against the blue sky. He took her hand and led her towards it. She was glad he was there, holding her hand, comforting her.

"Where are we going?" she asked, but her voice sounded far away.

"To the fair!" he replied, and smiled his half smile, which usually looks like a sneer, but right now it looked like the most beautiful smile Emily had ever seen.

"But I don't like Ferris wheels," she whined, and held him back.

"Don't worry, we can fly!" he replied, and then he was kissing her, and she kissed back.

The happy scene was spinning around her, and suddenly she was standing in the church again. There were people running all around her and a beast of some sort was coming straight for her. Malfoy came out of nowhere, swinging on a rope, and scooped her up. They flew into the safely of the rafters, and the beast was barking or howling or roaring up at them...

Emilia awoke with a start; sweating from fear and from something else.

_Oh shit_, she thought. _I like Malfoy_.

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**AN:** This chapter's short, but I wanted it to stand alone. Also, it's based on a real dream I had in high school, which caused me to realize I liked someone. Actually, I often realize things in dreams :) Anyway, reviews are appreciated!**  
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	7. SPEW

**AN:** Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual to upload. Work has been busy the past couple of weeks. I hope you like it. :)

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**S.P.E.W.**

Emily couldn't stop thinking about her dream all day. She kept trying to deny it; trying to pretend it meant nothing, that it was just a silly dream. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was true. _That_ was why she was so upset when she'd brought up his hatred for muggleborns. It wasn't some sort of political righteousness; she just liked him, that's all. _It's probably just because he's hot_, she kept telling herself, _I can't help but notice that_. But she knew that was just a cop out. One thing she couldn't deny was that she wanted to see that smile, the genuine smile he'd given her in the dream...

"Who are you looking at?" Megan asked, but Emily wasn't paying attention. The other girls giggled.

"Em?" Megan said, and poked her.

"What?" Emily said, a little too loudly. The girls giggled even harder.

"Who were you looking at?" Hannah asked.

"No-one, I was just staring off into space. I didn't get much sleep last night," Emilia replied. She actually had no idea she _had_ been looking at anyone. But when she looked in the direction her head had been pointed, she felt a rush of panic. _Draco. Dammit__!_

"Oh okay, 'cause for a minute there it looked like you were staring _longingly_ at Malfoy," Susan said with a smile.

Emily released a laugh that sounded very fake to her, but the girls didn't seem to notice. "No no, I wasn't even looking at anything."

"Haha, okay, it just looked funny, that's all," Susan replied. "God, I don't know how _anybody_ could like _Malfoy_," she said with a look of disgust. The rest of breakfast was spent bashing Malfoy and various other Slytherins, while the girls apologized for the millionth time that she couldn't be in a group with one of them for Herbology.

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Professor Vector was away sick that day, so Emilia's Arithmancy class was supervised by Professor Binns. He told them to work on the assignment written on the chalk board, then floated silently at the front of the room for the rest of the period. Not surprisingly, the class gradually descended into a hum of whispers, with Hermione Granger making a shushing noise every once in a while as she frantically worked on her questions. Emily, begrudgingly, worked on her own questions as well. The class was mostly Ravenclaws, and Wayne Hopkins (who barely talked to her), so she had nothing else to do.

About halfway through the period, a shadow passed over her desk, and she smelled a familiar scent (soap? shampoo? cologne?). She never realized how much she liked it before. _Oh no_, she thought.

A pen, her pen, dropped onto her book. She looked up.

"You forgot this yesterday," he said flatly.

"Oh. Thanks," she said, feeling a blush creep up her neck. _No, please no! I never blushed around him before!_ She thought, and another part of her responded, _that's because you didn't like him before_.

"I tried it," he said, sounding a little less bored this time.

"The pen?" her voice cracked. _Of course the pen, you idiot_, she mocked herself.

"Yeah," he replied. "It wasn't bad. It was awkward to use after using a quill my whole life. But it was nice not to worry about ink."

"Yeah…yeah that's the best part." _That's the best part? Just stop talking. Tell him to go away._

But Draco had noticed something. "What's that?" he pointed to her chest, where her S.P.E.W. button now resided. It was just as big and obnoxious as the Cedric one. _God, why did I wear this?_

"Oh, it's…" _Do I explain? Do I tell the truth? If he doesn't like muggleborns I can't imagine how he feels about house-elves. _But Hermione was sitting right in this room, so she couldn't exactly deny it. "It's about house-elf rights…" She looked down at her paper, not wanting to see his sneer.

He stood there for about 5 more seconds (but it felt like 5 hours), then walked away without saying another word. _I guess we made up? _Emily thought.

* * *

The next day in Herbology, Draco sat writing in their Mandrake Journal as Emily watered the plants.

"What, no spew button today?" he said, not unkindly.

"Oh, no," Emily blushed. "I only got it because Hermione was really persuasive about it, but then you and a couple other people commented on it so I decided to take it off, because I don't want to make a political statement about something I'm not really all that passionate about," she lied quickly. Of course, nobody else but him had actually commented on it, and the real reason she took it off was because she didn't want to start another fight. _He probably _**_has_**_ a house-elf_, she had reasoned with herself that morning.

Draco nodded. "Granger doesn't even know what she's talking about. The only house-elf she's ever met is Dobby, and he's insane."

Emily began to ask him what he meant by all that, but Madam Sprout called for everyone to put back their Mandrakes and sit in their seats, so she reminded herself to ask him about it later.

* * *

Emily woke up late the next morning. It was Saturday, so she slowly made her way down to breakfast. She sat down just as the owls were landing with the mail. They always arrived a bit late on weekends. Emily got the usual letter from her mom, which she received every couple of days, delivered by one of the Hogwarts owls. But there was also another much larger owl waiting for her.

"Oooh, that's an eagle owl!" Wayne piped up as Emily struggled with the fastening on its foot.

"Cool," she replied, disinterested.

"They're not very common," Wayne commented.

"And pretty expensive. Who do you know who has an eagle owl?" Zacharias interrupted.

"I have no idea," Emily yawned and finally managed to get the envelope off the owl's foot. It took a nip of her toast and flew away indignantly. Emily breathed in sharply when she saw the writing on the envelope.

"Confidential?" Zacharias read over her shoulder. "What could that mean?"

Emily shrugged and shoved the letter deep in her pocket. "Probably just an old friend trying to be mysterious," she smiled and tried to sound casual. Zacharias nodded and went back to his breakfast. Emily had immediately recognized the small neat hand-writing. She was glad Hannah and Susan had finished eating already and Megan was still in bed, because they never would have let it drop so easily.

She started in on her breakfast and read her mom's letter. Or rather, she looked at her mom's letter, because she was thinking far too hard about the note in her pocket to concentrate on the loopy Polish cursive. She sped through breakfast and practically ran out of the Great Hall, desperate to know what was so 'Confidential.' Emily rounded a corner into an empty corridor and carefully opened the envelope.

_Meet me on the 7__th__ floor, by the trolls. 7:00 PM._

_D.M._

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**AN:** Please Follow, Favourite, and/or Review :)


	8. A Bargain

**AN: **As you can see, I haven't updated this story in a LONG time. Life and writer's block got in the way! I haven't forgotten about it though. :)

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**A Bargain**

After dinner, Emily parted from her friends at the foot of the marble staircase. She told them she was going to the library, and none of them questioned it. She reached the 7th floor at 6:53 PM. She made her way slowly to the tapestry of the trolls doing ballet. She'd passed by it every day on her way to and from Arithmancy, and she knew this must be the "trolls" the note meant. Throughout the day, her initial excitement had turned to worry, which turned into annoyance. Of course he couldn't possibly like her. She was a muggleborn. He was a pure-blood who hated muggleborns. Of course he didn't like her. So what was this meeting about then? She had no idea, but she knew one thing. _Of course he doesn't like me_, she thought as she paused to take a drink from a drinking fountain. With these thought rolling around her head, she'd started to get annoyed at the note itself. It was so…demanding.

_Meet me on the 7__th__ floor, by the trolls. 7:00 PM._

_D.M._

First of all, there was no greeting, and barely any signature. 'D.M.' could be anybody. Nobody else immediately sprang to mind, but that was besides the point. And then, it was so commanding. He didn't ask if she _wanted_ to meet him, or where, or what time. What if she'd had a prior engagement at 7:00 PM? What if she actually needed to go to the library? Or wanted extra dessert? It was all so…rude.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Emilia realized she was only thinking of excuses to be mad at him, to save herself the pain if the note turned out not to be about what she hoped it was about. But that spurred her anger even more. Nevertheless, at 6:58 PM, she arrived at the tapestry. Draco was already there. His back was to her and he was examining the troll ballet. Her sneaker had squeaked against the stone floor when she rounded the corner, and he turned around and nodded a greeting.

"Well?" Emily asked impatiently.

"Stand back a little," he said, and motioned her away with his arm. He stepped closer to the wall opposite the trolls. He glared at the blank stone in concentration. Emily took a few steps back before she stopped herself.

"Wait, what's going on?" she asked, partly annoyed and partly curious. She ran a nervous hand through her long hair (she'd worn it down today).

"You'll see," Draco replied, and cracked a small mischievous smile at her. She almost melted on the spot.

He turned to look at the wall again and suddenly started to walk away from her. He stopped just before the window, then walked briskly back towards her. He stopped about a metre away from her. Emily gave him a curious look but said nothing. He repeated his little walk again and she crossed her arms.

"What are you doing?" She asked, now more curious than angry.

"Shh," he said dismissively, almost at the end of his third lap.

"If you –" Emilia started in on him, but he suddenly stopped again and gazed at the wall.

"Shut up and look," Draco interrupted. She glared at him but looked over at the blank wall…which wasn't blank anymore! A double door had appeared! They looked just like regular classroom doors, except less worn and more shiny. Emily gasped in wonder. For a second she questioned her sanity, but then reminded herself (not for the first time) that she was a witch and magic was real.

"How did you do that!?" she asked excitedly. "Was that door always there and we just couldn't see it? I didn't hear you do a spell…" She gazed from him to the doors then back again. Draco smirked and reached for the handle.

"Do all muggleborns periodically forget that magic exists, or are you just easily impressed?" he teased.

"Shut up," she replied with a laugh and followed him inside.

It wasn't a very large room, but it was as nice as any of the others at Hogwarts. It looked similar to the library, with dark wood, a bookshelf running along the back wall with a couch and two desks in front of it, two wooden chairs, and several lamps and sconces. As she looked closer, she realized it had the _exact_ same furnishings as the library, which she supposed made sense. The room was brightly lit although there were no windows, and she noticed only one of the desks had an ink well and quill.

"It looks like the library," she said to Draco, who had casually walked to the bookshelf and was thumbing through a large green book.

"Yeah," he replied, "except _that_." He nodded towards the entrance, where Emily was still standing. On either side of her there were two large puffy pillows. They covered about two square metres of the floor and ran up the wall, all the way to the ceiling. One was deep yellow and the other was dark green.

"Yeah, I noticed these…" she said, and walked over to the yellow one and pushed on it lightly. It was squishy but firmer than it looked. "What exactly did you have in mind?" she teased, then immediately regretted it and hoped she didn't blush.

"Isn't it obvious?" Draco answered and walked towards her.

"Gee, I don't know Draco. You ask me to meet you in an abandoned corridor late at night. No. No, not ask! _Demand_ that I meet you! Then you tell me to "_step aside, little lady_" as you do some crazy wall walking magic and BOOM, here we are in a room I've never seen before or knew existed, and for all I know nobody can see it but us! And, I mean, giant pillows! What am I supposed to think!?"

Draco blinked at her calmly. "Are you finished?" He asked.

"I'm allowed to be mad!" Emily replied. Apparently her anger was bound to explode at some point. She really hadn't expected it, but she felt better now that it was out.

Draco drawled, "Fine, be angry." He handed her the book he'd been looking at.

Emily looked down at the title. _The Wonders of Wordless and Wandless Wizardry_. "What's this?"

"It's the reason I asked you here," he responded.

"Oh," she replied, and looked down at the book again. "You…want me to read to you?" she joked.

"Don't be stupid," he sighed and walked towards the bookshelf again. He leaned back against a desk and tossed his hair out of his eyes. Emily couldn't help but notice how hot that looked. She looked back down at the book to distract herself and flipped to a random page. "I want you to teach me nonverbal and wandless magic. If you can learn it, _I_ can learn it."

"You'll learn it in a couple of years anyway," Emily retorted.

"I don't want to learn it with everyone else. I want to be ahead."

"Okay, well…" Emily didn't really know what to think about this. "Well first of all, when asking someone for a favour, it's probably best to actually _ask_ for the favour, not _demand_ it as if it's your right. And it's also probably best not to call them stupid and tell them to shut up."

"When did I say that?" Draco asked, feigning innocence.

"Like, at least twice today. And every day." Emily replied with a humourless laugh.

Draco sighed and sat down in the desk chair; he motioned to the couch, silently beckoning her to sit. She moved towards it slowly and sat on the edge. When she looked back at him, they were only a couple of feet apart.

"I'm not good at asking for things. I suppose it's not the way I was raised. But I would really like it…and _appreciate_ it, if you could _please_ teach me nonverbal magic," he looked at her expectantly and attempted a big smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "_Please_?"

Emilia couldn't help but laugh. "That looks like it hurt."

"A little, yeah," Draco retorted and dropped the creepy smile.

She didn't know what to say. She wasn't even sure if she _could_ teach him. She'd never tried to teach anybody magic before. Or anything, really. She sat silently for a moment. Draco was still staring at her hopefully.

"To be honest, I don't know if I even can. I've never tried to teach anybody before," she finally replied. "I'm an only child and all my cousins are older than me..."

"Me too," Draco agreed dismissively. "But, you can try," he reasoned.

"Well, but…" Emily didn't quite know why she had a problem with this. It would mean she'd get to spend more time with Draco. Isn't that what she wanted? _But he doesn't _want_ me, he just wants to use me_. The harsh thought popped suddenly into her head. "What's in it for me?" she finished.

"Oh. Well…" Draco looked as confused as she felt. "I thought that we…Nevermind. I can pay you, if that's what you mean?"

"What? No!" she stood up in anger. "That's…that's pretty insulting, you know. Pay me! As if I'm some sort of charity case!?"

"Or a professor?" Draco replied calmly.

"Umm…yeah," Emilia blushed and sat back down again. Draco smirked, but it almost looked apologetic. Or maybe she was just imagining that. She didn't know what to think anymore.

"What would you like in return then?" Draco asked. Emily thought for a moment. There were a number of things she'd like from him. A romantic trip to Hogsmeade. Just the two of them. Lunch at that cute little tea shop where her friends said only couples go. Holding hands as they walked through town. A gentle kiss…then a not-so-gentle kiss…

She could feel him watching her and was suddenly paranoid that he could hear her thoughts. "Well…well since I'm teaching you something…maybe you should teach me something…Like arithmancy. I'm not doing as well this term."

"Done!" Draco replied and extended his hand. Emily shook it nervously, hoping her own hand wasn't too sweaty. "See, that wasn't so hard," he grinned and let their hands drop. It was a real genuine smile like the one from her dream. She loved his smile. All she wanted to do was make him smile.

"No…not hard at all," she replied, a little sadly. "So, umm, what exactly is this room?"


	9. The Room of Hidden Things

**AN:** This chapter took me a while to write, mostly because it required research...which is boring. :P I hope you guys like it though!

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**The Room of Hidden Things**

"Welcome to the Room of Hidden Things!" Draco said with exaggerated fanfare, standing up and spreading his arms wide.

"The Room of Hidden Things?" Emilia asked and stood up to join him.

"Yes," he replied. "Well, this particular room is more of a…training room. It can be anything you want. My mother always called it the Room of Hidden Things though."

"Your mother?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes. One of her sisters found it when they were at Hogwarts, and they never told anybody else about it. Except me." He said proudly. "Not even my father knows."

"Oh," Emily suddenly felt nervous. "Have you shown it to anybody else?"

"No, just you," Draco replied, and then seemed to regret his answer. "I've never had a reason to use it before."

"Right," Emilia answered. She turned to look at the bookshelf beside her. Something was different about Malfoy tonight. She'd noticed it earlier too. He seemed more…relaxed. More comfortable. He wasn't exactly nicer, but he seemed more…open? She realized this was the first time they've been alone together. Truly alone, not just at a semi-secluded potting table in a greenhouse full of classmates. She wondered if she was acting differently too.

"So…" Draco started.

"What?" Emily replied and looked back at him.

"Can we start tonight?"

"Oh, well…" Emily looked at her watch. It was only 7:15. The library closed at 8 o'clock, so her friends wouldn't expect her back in the dorm until then. "Let me think for a minute." She started pacing.

Draco shrugged, sat down at the desk with the quill, and took some parchment out of the drawer.

"No, you won't need to write anything down…I think," Emily said. He shrugged again, put the parchment back and leaned back in his chair.

She thought back to her first non-verbal magic lesson. What had Mrs. Duckworth started with…?

She came to a halt in front of Draco, pretty confident with what she was about to say. He let his chair legs drop to the floor.

"Okay. So let's start with your wand," she put one hand on her hip and reached the other one out to him, as she remembered her old Charms teacher doing last year. He gave her a doubtful look.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he drawled.

Emily gave him a sly smile. "Fine." She got her wand out from her pocket and held it out on her palms. She was quite proud of it really. It was a bright orangey-yellow, highly polished, and had neat round carvings on the handle that fit her fingers perfectly. It was a bit darker where her thumb always rested, but otherwise still in perfect condition.

"Dragon heartstring. Pine. 25.5 centimetres. Firm," Emilia announced. "Dragon heartstring is the most powerful core. It can learn more quickly than other cores, and it bonds strongly with its owner. However, it is the easiest to turn to the Dark Arts and the most prone to accidents. Pine wood gravitates towards independent and creative owners. It can easily learn new methods and spells, and it is good for non-verbal magic. So I have an advantage there, I guess. The length mostly relates to your height, but also your strength of characters. My parents always say I'm stubborn so I guess that's why it's firm. Your turn." Emily put her wand back in her pocket and held her hand out again.

"Nice speech," Draco mocked, but reached into his pocket.

"You have to know your wand, it's your main tool," Emily retorted as Draco placed his wand in her hand.

"So tell me about mine," he challenged.

"Let's see…" she said as she examined Draco's wand. It was smooth with very little decoration. The handle was black and it faded down into brown. It seemed to be the same length as her own wand, which was slightly surprising since he was taller than her. She bent it lightly and it gave way. That was all she could see. How had Mrs. Duckworth done this? She had taken every student's wand and been able to tell them the wood and core. Emily had no idea though. "I don't know how teachers do this," she confessed, and handed it back to him. "What is it?"

Draco smirked, "Unicorn hair, hawthorn, 10 inches, reasonably springy."

"Weird, I thought yours would be 'ridiculously rigid' or something," Emily quipped.

"Ha ha," Draco said dryly. "Anyway, I remember unicorn hair is supposed to be the least prone to the Dark Arts…"

"Right, right," she replied with a faint smile. By now, Emily's friends had told her about the Malfoy family's rumoured association with Voldemort, so hearing Draco say that made her feel a bit better.

Mrs. Duckworth had made them memorize the most important properties of their own wands, but Emily didn't remember much about the other cores and woods. She still wanted to impress Draco though. "Unicorn hair is also the most consistent, I think. So not 'prone to accidents' like mine. Though honestly I've never had any trouble with it…Anything special about your wood? Hawthorn?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted.

"Yeah, I have no idea either. Maybe one of these books…" she walked the couple of steps to the bookshelf and started examining the titles. There were a lot of books about spell-work, charms, transfiguration, etc.

"Seriously?" Draco asked.

"What?" Emily said and looked back at him.

He heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Accio book about wand wood." A small brown book flew off the shelf at him. "Honestly, do you just forget you can do magic sometimes?"

"Well, we can't do that in the library!" Emily replied defensively.

"This isn't the library," Draco retorted, and handed her the book.

"Wand Woods of the British Isles," she read the title aloud.

"Cute," he commented dryly.

Emily sat down on the couch and flipped through the little book. It seemed to be in alphabetical order, so it didn't take her long to find 'Hawthorn.'

"Here it is!" she announced. "Hawthorn…" She skimmed the page while Draco watched her. "So…God, when was this written, the 1600s? Okay, so it says their owners are complex and intriguing," Draco made a smug noise, but she ignored him. "They're suited for healing magic. Well that's good," she looked up at Draco, who shrugged.

"I suppose," he said flatly.

"Well yeah, if you need to heal someone…or yourself," she looked at him encouragingly.

"Right," he nodded to appease her.

Emily looked back down at the musty page, "Well _I_ think it's a good thing. Anyway it also says they're adept at curses…So I guess you could curse someone and then heal them," she joked and smiled up at him.

"Mmmhmm," he responded.

"Is this boring you?" she asked.

"Yes," Draco replied and crossed his arms. "I was hoping - "

"I know, I know. I'm almost done. I just want to see if it says anything about non-verbal spells." Emily said quickly and went back to reading the old text. She looked up again after about a minute. "Okay, so the only other interesting thing it says is that hawthorn wands like wizards with a conflicted nature, or who are going through a period of turmoil….Are you in turmoil, Draco?" she teased.

"No, I'm mostly bored," he replied and took his wand back out of his pocket. "Can we do the magic now?" he sat down on the couch beside her. She instinctively scooched over because the couch was small and he was very close. He smelled like his cologne again. Or soap, or shampoo, or whatever it was.

"Yes!" She exclaimed and slammed the book shut dramatically. She tossed it lightly onto the desk to her right and took her own wand out. This next part she remembered very well from her teachings, since she was the first in her class to perform the non-verbal spell. She was still proud of that.

"Okay, we're going to start with one of the first spells you learned as a kid." Emily performed a silent _lumos_ charm, making the tip of her wand produce a bright white light.

"Lumos?" Draco asked.

"Not quite," Emily replied. "Nox," she said, and the light was extinguished. "It's simple. It's short. It's perfect for non-verbal magic!"

"Alright…" Draco replied, a bit unimpressed.

"Light up your wand," she nodded towards it and Draco complied. "The most important thing about _Nox_ is that it's short. Meaning the word itself is short. When you're doing non-verbal magic…Okay, pay attention to this because it's _really_ important," she paused and gave Draco a serious look.

"I'm paying attention," he said, with only a hint of annoyance.

"Okay, so you have to think about what the spell does. About what you want your wand to do. You want the light to go out, right? So you have to think about that, imagine it, envision it happening. But you also have to think the word really _really_ hard. Nox, nox, NOX! But, here's the tricky part, you have to think about _only_ that word. Spells are mostly in Latin for a reason. A long time ago some witches and wizards figured out that's the language magic responds best to for some reason. So you can't sit there thinking 'Go out!' or 'Turn off!' or 'Extinguish!' because those aren't the right words. You have to think 'NOX!' That's the only word you can think. 'Nox' has to mean all of those things to you. You have to imagine it's the only word you know and it means all those things. You have to like…live and breathe that word. That's the hardest part. It gets easier, but it's really hard to get rid of all those other words at first. I think part of the reason it's a bit easier for me is because I already speak two languages."

"What?" Draco interrupted.

"Well yeah. I speak Polish and English. So for me, everything has two different words for it already. So throwing a third word in there isn't as big of a deal. Extinguish, wyłącz, nox. They all mean the same thing and I can accept that. If you've only ever used one word for something your whole life, it's harder to let it go."

"I've been doing spells for a long time though," Draco argued.

"Yeah, but it's not the same as internalizing the words," Emilia smiled, "That's it! That's what you need to do. You need to _internalize_ the spell. That's a good way to put it."

"Okay…"

"I was the first one who could do the non-verbal spell at my old school, you know," she smiled proudly.

"Congratulations," Draco replied absently. He looked confused and nervous. But, not obviously. Emily could tell though.

"Okay, ready to try it?" she said excitedly and looked down at his glowing wand.

"Yeah…Yes,' Draco replied, and shook his head lightly as if to clear his thoughts. He glared down at his wand.

"So visualize it, but only think the word 'Nox,'" Emily repeated quietly.

"Will it help that you're talking to me?" Draco whispered back sarcastically.

"No…sorry," she said and sank back into the couch. After about two minutes of intense glaring, Draco gave an exasperated sigh and looked up at her, half annoyed and half defeated.

"Any other tips?" he asked.

"Yes, but I didn't want to interrupt. It's going to sound silly, but I found it helps at first if you close your eyes." Draco raised his eyebrows in doubt. "No really. Because then you can just picture what you want the spell to do, but there's nothing else around to distract you. Just focus on the image and the incantation."

"Okay. I'll try it. But listen, can we cut this short tonight? I don't think I'm going to get it with you here staring at me." Emilia glared lightly and started to say something but Draco kept going. "No, I didn't want that to sound mean, but I think I better practice alone, alright?"

Emily sat forward on the couch. "Yeah, alright, that makes sense. So…I guess let me know when you get it so we can meet up again and learn something harder?"

"I thought you needed help with Arithmancy?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah!" Emily replied. She'd completely forgotten about that part of their arrangement. "Yeah actually I could kind of use help right away. Tomorrow, maybe?"

"Same time?" Draco asked. He stood up and put his wand away. Emily did the same.

"Okay," Emily sighed. "I just can't get my head around Kepler and the music of the spheres…I don't think I'll take Arithmancy again next year."

"Yes, it's not for everyone…" Draco agreed. "I have to take it because my father works for the Department of Finance at the Ministry."

"That doesn't mean you have to take it," she replied.

"No, but I want to work there too after Hogwarts."

"Oh…me too!" Emily smiled. "But I want to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Not as an Auror or anything, but on the administrative side. I'd really like to be on the Wizengamot someday. That would be so cool!"

Draco laughed.

"What? You don't think I'm smart enough!?" she challenged.

"No, no it's not that," Draco replied, calming himself down. "It's just that…I can't picture you on the Wizengamot at all. You're not serious enough."

"I can be serious," Emily crossed her arms.

"And you basically can't have any sort of social life or family life. I can see you, right after Hogwarts, getting married and having five kids. Not working and studying your whole life just to get on the Wizengamot," he laughed again.

"Yeah well…why don't you spend less time thinking about my life after Hogwarts and more time practicing your little spell," Emily replied, annoyed. Truthfully, Emily did want to get married and have kids after Hogwarts, but there was no reason why she couldn't do that _and_ get high-up in the Ministry.

"Alright, alright. I'll see you tomorrow then?" Draco asked, wiping away tears of laughter.

"Yeah, I guess," she answered, still cross.

"I would offer to walk you back to your dorm, but…"

"But we better leave separately so that nobody sees us together?" Emily replied. She hadn't expected him to want to advertise their new friendship…or whatever this was.

"Right," Draco nodded once. She started to turn towards the door.

"Goodnight then…good luck with your spell," she said, wanting to leave it on a polite note.

"Thanks," Draco replied. Emily started to walk away but he grabbed her arm. She turned her head quickly. "No really, thank you for doing this," Draco said seriously. "You have no real reason to."

"No, but…you're not all bad," Emily smirked at him and walked away.

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**AN 1: **I know Draco isn't supposed to know about this room until OotP, but what if he did? Don't worry, I'll have an explanation for that later. And yes, I meant for Draco to not say which aunt told his mother about the room, since they have a strained relationship so I don't think he'd like talking about her much. But it was Andromeda, and Bellatrix doesn't know anything about it.

**AN 2: **I could have sworn the books said Lucius worked high-up in the Ministry in an unspecified department, but while writing this chapter I looked it up and the only "official" job I could find for him was a Hogwarts Governor. In a future chapter of this story it's important that he works for the Ministry though, so I'm just going to leave it. I can't see Hogwarts Governor being a full-time job anyway. Plus he got fired in CoS anyway, so it's reasonable that he'd find another job after that. I'm sure the Malfoys have enough money that they don't really need to work…but I'm probably over thinking this, haha.


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